Curved monitors are the new Flat! Curved monitors, although perceived to be new technology in the gaming market, have been around for the longest time. The concave screen design of the big screens in movie theaters has found its way into our homes in a more minimal form factor.
Curved computer monitors are better than flat monitors because they often have superior aspect ratios, less image distortion, and accommodate the human eye’s tendency to focus on certain types of images. Users of curved monitors also report reduced eye strain relative to their flat counterparts.
Curved screens in Movie Theaters were used to provide a better viewing experience by eliminating extreme viewing angles throughout the auditorium. This entertaining history of curved screens on big screen theaters and television designs gives us a sneak peek of why curved monitors are better than flat when it comes to gaming.
Whether you are setting a new gaming setup or looking to get an upgrade for your gaming experience just not sure if the relatively new technology in curved monitors is better than flat monitors, you are on the right track. Here is what’s new in curved monitors that will take your gaming experience to the next level.
Aesthetics and Comfort Level
Eyes on and curved monitors compared to the traditional flat monitors have a futuristic high-tech look. Pair the curved look with RGB lights and the wow factor pops out. One thing that every casual or professional gamer would appreciate before getting to the gaming, is a stunning gaming space that will win any setup war, curved monitors are a step into the best gaming space.
It is easy to design a visually stimulating gaming setup with a curved monitor as opposed to a flat monitor if, for instance, you have a weirdly shaped table or room. The curved design of the monitor adds a smooth finish masking away any wired corners and curves.
Some gaming setups still feature double monitors; however, if you are one of the gamers that just can’t ignore that annoying thick bezel that has to exist at the center of the action, what you need is a curved monitor.
For most gamers, especially the minimalists, a curved monitor is a definite consideration. Curved monitors may not be designed to be used as a vertical monitor, which is not an issue for almost all gamers looking for a monitor that can keep pace with high-tech microphones and headphones on an RGB lit liquid-cooled computer. They, however, make the table feel less cluttered due to their curved designed when compared to flat monitors.
From recent studies, there is no doubt that more people are spending more time staring at a screen and even more in front of a computer monitor. This may explain the increasing popularity of curved monitors, a curved monitor is designed to reduce eye strain and eye fatigue over considerable hours of use per day. This is a huge plus for a gamer; who not only spends hours in front of a screen but also has to keep up with rapidly changing images on the screen.
A gamer using a flat monitor is more likely to suffer from eye fatigue compared to one using a curved monitor. Simply put, the curved monitor is more comfortable compared to the flat monitor when it comes to gaming.
Why Are Curved Monitors Better for Preventing Eye Fatigue?
The R Rating
Sometimes after long gaming sessions on a flat monitor, especially for beginners, you are likely to feel exhausted which can sometimes result in a headache. A curved monitor has been designed to reduce this unwanted effect possibly totally removing it.
On a flat monitor the information at the edges is further away from your eyes which means your eyes will keep focusing and refocusing, although our eyes have an extraordinary autofocusing system, they are powered by muscles and the brain. Some games run at incredibly fast speeds, only an optimized gaming computer can keep up, however, our eyes experience no lags nor do they overheat. This incredible functionality can be made much efficient if you use a curved monitor instead of a flat monitor.
A curved monitor is designed to mimic the curvature of your eyes. Information at the center of the screen is further away from the eyes compared to information at the edges. This ingenious design reduces the stress on your eyes and brain from auto-refocusing every time you move your mouse. This means you can play for even longer hours with less fatigue and better still, no more headaches.
The more content displayed on the screen that is within the field of view of the gamer the better. Curved monitors future an R rating that is set to describe the radius of the screen. The higher the R-value the more curvature, new designs are pushing for R ratings higher than 1000R, which closely compliments the human field of view.
The radius ratings can be found in the specification description and are usually indicated like; 1500R, 1800R, or more. The R rating is not a specification that comes with even the best of flat monitors. For the best gaming emersion go for curved monitors with 1800R and above even better set up a triple curved monitor setup.
Aspect Ratio
A larger aspect ratio means a wider screen with relatively the same height compared to a traditional flat screen. Curved monitors usually have a larger aspect ratio, for example, the traditional flat monitor comes with an aspect ratio of about 16:9 while the curved one usually comes in the 21:9 aspect ratio. This means the images displayed by the curved monitor typically are more cinematic compared to flat monitors. This plays a great deal when it comes to immersion levels, especially in multiplayer games.
A gamer that plays on a curved monitor usually experiences a better gaming experience due to the ocular view rendered by the curved but does not exist on the flat monitor.
An advantage that comes with a larger aspect ratio is a more peripheral view. On a curved monitor, a gamer has a more peripheral view which means you will be quick to spot lurking enemies and finally landing those one-shot kills, a total game-changer.
Anti-Glare, Color Consistency, and Viewing Angles
Flat monitors are more prone to glares as opposed to curved monitors that have almost no glare. For gamers having a glaring screen can cause distraction besides adversely affecting the immersion experience. A curved monitor should be placed in such a way that your eyes look straight at the center of the screen spanning equal sides of the curvature of the screen on your eyes. The curved design drastically improves glare resistance and renders a better focal angle for deeper immersion.
On a flat monitor, you move a lot, this is because you have to turn your head more to spot action on the edge of the monitor, however, on a curved, these are much different. A curved monitor has better viewing angles; you can see a lot more in your viewing angles which means you move less which boosts comfort levels and overall immersion, you feel more in control of the game.
A better viewing angle also means the colors remain consistent and balanced across the monitor, which means the images are going to look crisp and better than a flat monitor in the same price range.
Image distortion
Almost every gamer is familiar with that depressing feeling you get when you have an insanely powerful gaming rig backed with an outrageous graphics card and you still get a blurry image. The solution to that depression is a curved monitor. Most flat monitors are prone to image distortion simply because they are designed to project their images outwards and sideways.
Curved monitors do not experience any image distortion; with a great pc, every image is smooth and responsive. The curved monitor unlike the flat monitor is designed to project the image towards the viewer eliminating any chances of image distortion.
Ultra-wide
Most probably you have seen the ultra-wide curved monitors, and if you thought that it is best suited for gaming, then you have good taste. Having an ultra-wide monitor in the workplace feels out of place but for a gaming setup, it makes perfect sense. The ultra-wide screens place in the center of the action yields to you its amazing ocular view immersion capability in every game.
The ultra-wide monitors come with amazing aspect ratios that cannot be matched with any flat monitor when it comes to gaming. However, the downside that ultra-wide gaming monitors come with is that some games do not feature aspect ratios for the ultra-wide screen. This means you will have a dark bezel on one side of the monitor.
This dead screen real estate can have adverse negative effects on the gaming experience. Sometimes the game may have very good graphics but the unutilized screen space just takes away the motivation to play the game on an ultra-widescreen, for instance, older console games such as Overwatch are terrible on an ultra-wide screen. However, game developers are taking screen aspect ratio into serious consideration and modern games are completely playable on ultra-wide monitors.
Ultra-wide support for some games may be turned off to prevent players from having an unfair advantage over others. This can be depressing if you own an ultra-wide and you cannot enjoy the full resources, which includes the wider field of view of your monitor.
When it comes to multi-tasking, the ultra-wide monitor is king. The extra real estate means you can do more on the same screen without needing extra monitors. This is a very appealing look if you are a casual gamer that has to get some work done on your computer but still wants to maintain a minimal and sophisticated style.
Resolution and GPUs
A wider monitor as in the case of a curved monitor usually means more pixels, more pixels mean more resolution. However, a higher resolution means you have to dive deeper into your pocket for a beefier GPU. Playing on a screen with high pixel count than your computer can support means you are going to have blurry images drastically reducing your gaming experience.
Refresh Rates and Aspect Ratios
The faster your monitor can update the pixels the better when it comes to gaming monitors. This is usually expressed as FPS (Frames Per Second) in the specifications plate of the monitor. The most popular FPS rating on monitors on the market includes; 60Hz, 144Hz, and 240Hz. The higher the aspect ratio the more pixels your monitor has to update.
A high FPS rating on any monitor is a good thing to prevent in-game laggings and ghosting. Most curved monitors always come with high refresh rate ratings, however, it is hard to find a curved monitor of 21:9 aspect ratio and 244Hz refresh rates.
The Gray Side of Curved Gaming Monitors
The price
A curved monitor is generally more expensive compared to the typical flat screen monitor. However, although curved monitors are still expenses that are quickly changing, today you can easily find a curved monitor with decent specs and performance for under $200. The price will vary with high specifications such as the resolution, screen size, and the number of ports available.
Wall mount
Curved monitors although can be mounted on a wall are not that aesthetically pleasing as opposed to flat monitors. Nonetheless, most games in the market are not looking to wall-mount their monitors, still, most gaming setups do not feature wall-mounted gaming monitors, that look is more geared toward a business setting where curved monitors are not that famous anyway. For standalone monitors, curved monitors still usually feature sleek stands that add depth to the overall desk setup.
Text Display
Although your curved monitor can be a beast during gaming sessions it does not do great when it comes to reading text. Texts on a curved monitor due to the wide field of view appear blurry. Reading text documents on a curved monitor is possible but not recommended when blurry due to eye strain.
Final Thoughts
Curved monitors are getting better and cheaper. The extra screen real estate, better resolution with less image distortion makes it the ideal choice for anyone that spends long hours on their computers such as gamers, graphic designers, and filmmakers. Curved monitors are the perfect complement of a workhorse computer and a gaming rig.
Multitasking on the computer is the modern way of life, spreading different windows on a curved monitor is much easier to manage than on a flat monitor making the curved monitor the preferred fit for the modern person. However, I do not recommend going oversize on the curved monitors since the extra screen real estate can end up not needed, some applications and games still do not have support for such wide aspect ratios.
Although they usually have a high price tag attached to them, curved monitors are worth the money not only for gamers but also for the typical home computer.